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February 21, 2008 - Weighing in on the Mass Effect (Xbox 360) "pornography" controversy  If you aren't already aware of the controversy, you can catch up here EA vs. Fox: Lawrence Recants Mass Effect Judgement. Though I do my best to get you up to speed as we go along here. (I have video of the controversial content below)
Article highlights: Overview Basically the latest game from Bioware (makers of the Knights of the Old Republic series) called "Mass Effect", an ARPG (Action Role-Playing Game where you make complex human choices throughout the game…geez N00bs) got in the hands of the general media and, as is typical fashion, those gaming ignoramuses' way skewed certain "sexual" elements of the game labeling them as essentially blatant and visceral pornography. This set off a firestorm; one from conservatives against the makers of the game - and one from the knowledgeable gamers against the media for falsely representing the game. Yes, you can initiate a lesbian love scene between a human women and a female blue alien (sort of like Zhaan from Farscape). You also can initiate a love scene between a human man and woman. But, as the game producers claim, it is nothing worse than the love scenes you'd see on network television at night (you can decide for yourself in the videos below). And to their credit, you don't have to choose to initiate the scenes which compose about less than 0.01% of the game. I have a couple bones to pick though with this whole thing; and with both sides of the controversy. Video Game Pornography? What started the controversy? Well after a conservative new sites labeled the game basically as pornography, Townhall.com columnist and author Kevin McCullough wrote: It's called "Mass Effect" and it allows its players - universally male no doubt - to engage in the most realistic sex acts ever conceived. One can custom design the shape, form, bodies, race, hair style, breast size of the images they wish to "engage" and then watch in crystal clear, LCD, 54 inch screen, HD clarity as the video game "persons" hump in every form, format, multiple, gender-oriented possibility they can think of.Then this program on Fox News added all sort of flammable material into the fire… I find it hilarious they always cut off Jeff Keighly, who knows what he's talking about, for two women, no offense, who've obviously never played the game…and let's be honest, don't look like they're too into video games much anyways. "I gotta go with the research…" (yeah I refuse to research the game!) Idiot. Hey let's then get a round-table discussion of a bunch of people that don't know anything about video games! What happened to Atari and pinball and Pac-Man?!?! Are you serious? Has this women been living under a rock for I don't know, the past 25 years?! Get with the times woman. Anyways, I know, ashamedly, what pornography is, and Mass Effect is definitely not it. If you watch the aforementioned at the bottom of this page, you probably would agree with the statement that it's nothing worse than what we see on our boob (pun intended) tubes every night. Despite the fact that real-time console graphics are getting somewhat close to photorealism, there's no question you're watching animation; and short animation at that. I will touch on this a little later, but another thing that these ignoramuses's didn't consider is the fact that this is a deep and long game with ever evolving complex relationships and circumstances. Like Jeff Keighly said in the Fox interview, it's not like you turn on the game and your first choice is to have lesbian sex with a alien. These relationships, even the ones with blue aliens, are products of tens, if not hundreds, of hours of gameplay and interaction, and come with them intricate and multiform emotions. But This Ain't Abstinence Class Either Though I think these scenes aren't pornographic, they do assuredly display mild to above-moderate sexual overtones, expressions, and themes. In this way I'm siding with the conservatives who are concerned about the content of video games that inevitably fall into the hands of kids (though I still blame the parents, and to a lesser extent retailers, for this). Though this hasn't been mentioned per se, I do believe the lesbian scene has the greater damaging/confusing psychological effect on a developmental mind than the heterosexual one. The full explanation of that statement is beyond the scope of this article, but the premise stems from a Judeo-Christian worldview. This doesn't change the fact that I think both scenes may be inappropriate - I'm just saying this because homosexual themes in video games, as opposed to television, are still very much in their infancy. In short, just because I agree that Mass Effect is far from "pornographic" in essence, it doesn't mean I'd condone every component that the game has to offer. But that is the beauty of the game though; it contains many similar moral choices we face in life. To someone opposed to the sexual content, you don't have to go down that path, just like in real life! :) Mainstream Media Bungles Another One Perhaps I shouldn't expect otherwise, but is the mainstream media going to bungle every video game controversy by blowing them out of proportion, misrepresenting the questionable content, and inviting complete ignoramuses' that somehow have doctorates onto their shows to discuss it? Maybe this further affirms a notion I've had for a while that conservatives and religious-based watch dog groups for entertainment and video games are woefully in need of gaming journalists that share their social and personal convictions and morals but unlike them have a clue what they're talking about when it comes to video games, the video game industry, and the gaming culture. Unprofessional journalism in this case, exhibited by Fox and those other writers, has furthered the divide between hardcore gamers and the casual gaming and non-gaming public. Has this controversy settled down and misrepresentations been rectified? A lot has yeah, but the casual gamer, and especially non-gamer, won't follow the whole story and the corrections later on. They'll just see the original headline and probably assume video games are going down the tube and that video game companies and developers are all going to Hell. Though you may not know it, there is a strong and large contingent of people, including prominent politicians, that want video games either cleaned up or shipped out. This whole controversy, and subsequent social gap, basically started back with Mortal Kombat, reached unprecedented heights with GTA III, and now is reaching boiling point status I think sometimes. For a more detailed look at gaming versus the new media, check out Next-Gen editor Colin Campbell's opinion on the disconnect. Gamers Resent Media and Conservatives 
The problem this rift also propagates though is the distrust
America's youth/young adults (many of whom play video games) have for the older generations. As if America's postmodern,
purposeless youth needed anymore
reason to resent their neglectful, divorced, baby boomer parents and others like them - the "adults" continually try take away the
things they find enjoyable, like video games, music, etc., whilst the youth inevitably look at them with disdain as self-righteous
hypocrites. This is your typical "teenage angst/rebellion", but this form of parental/authoritative censorship is new the past decade or two.
It goes deeper when a religious or conservative context is evoked. The "new" Atheism that has permeated now the young adult, college aged, and even teenage ears and hearts is driving the wedge even deeper between their elders who grew up in a "Christian" America. So waves of the younger generation grow even more distrustful not only of their elder statesmen, but also of whom they see as religious "zealots" and other harebrained right-wingers, again, trying to "ruin their fun". This isn't to say I'd personally I'd side with the youth in video game anarchy/relativism, but the reckless journalism that we see here in relation to the negative press and stigma Mass Effect has gotten is a mini-tragedy and one that should not occur. Had any of these journalists spent more than a casual glance at the game, they'd most definitely retract many of their harsh comments (as they do later on). And I think that's all our cantankerous youth want; something restless youth have only wanted for generations now - that for parents/adults to show they care by actually putting time into their lives and trying to understand them and their interests. So in this case the ignorance of the media and certain journalists/writers only exhibits their subconscious, yet telling, laissez-faire attitude towards what the youth are playing. Kids and teens are smarter and more observant than we give them credit for sometimes. To clarify my above statements though…I'm not saying a parent should let their kids play/watch whatever they want and then try to "understand" them, but I am saying a parent maybe should give their 17+ son or daughter some autonomy to choose what they put in front of their eyes/ears, to a reasonable extent (not like you'd let/want your 18 year old son go to a strip club, but you may let them go see an R rated movie), and, for better or for worse, attempt to relate to them as peers in terms of their interests and passions. This isn't relinquishing your parental status and authority, but it is recognizing your child is now becoming an adult, and will need more of a friend and adult affirmer, than a protector and provider anymore. I'm getting on a tangent… Game are deep, complex, and emotional now 
Pseudo history lesson follows:It first happened in 1997, in Final Fantasy VII; well at least it did for me and millions of other gamers. The first time we Anyways, today many games have the potential to elicit emotions from players, Mass Effect included. We aren't playing Pong or even liturgical (sarcasm) masterpieces like Jungle Hunt and Super Mario Bros.; and therein lies the disconnect. I find most non-gamers, even some "casual" ones have a knowledge of video games that doesn't reach past the last time they played them when they were 12 years old. So these journalist and writers on TV don't realized the industry has moved along since the Atari 2600. (Side note: The worst is when someone refers to video games or playing a game as "playing Nintendo"…what Nintendo console? What game? How can you just be playing "Nintendo?" Are you playing the company itself? What the heck?! End pet peeve.) Mass Effect compared to the alternative? Does Mass Effect have some questionable content? Yeah it does. Do a lot of video games today contain unnecessary additional sexual, violent, or immoral content? Probably. But geez, considering the alternatives kids face from peers and the media, video games look as harmless as Barney. Consider the music videos below - that play, along with others like it, liberally on cable TV networks all day for kids of all ages to watch at ease. Parents, this is what your teenage kids are watching when they come home from school. Warning: same warning ("Wake Up Call" Maroon 5) Now could you tell me you'd rather want your teenage kids watching videos and TV shows like this on MTV, Spike, etc., over playing a huge game of complex human themes, diverse emotions and characters, and consequence-laden morality driven autonomy, which happens to have about 0.1% of objectionable, not-even-that-bad-comparatively, content in it? Yet you don't see Fox News bringing in conservative "experts" slamming MTV or other networks for broadcasting content like this do you? They may touch on the denigration of America's youth and moral standards in general, but they sure don't single-out content like this like they did with Mass Effect. Double standard in effect? You bet your BET shakin' booty. Again, I'm not condoning the objectionable content found in Mass Effect. I'm just saying that video games in general, with all they cuss words, sexual innuendos, and blood-flyin' frags, I think still have much less a potential moral effect on youth (who shouldn't be playing Mature rated games anyways parents!) than illicit TV shows, music videos, and the such. As a parent, I would be much more concerned with shielding my children from pop culture in the form of real-life based movies, TV, and music, before I would get all Judge Dredd on them with the video games. Of course video games are beginning to merge with all forms of pop culture so that integration needs to monitored closely also. What is a "morally-concerned" gamer to do? You may think if I'm ok with playing a game with lesbian scenes in it, then I've lost my moral compass and I'm on a path to Hell-bound morality. Hopefully you're less shallow than that and have a better grasp of grace. That said, there are limits to which I'm personally willing to subject myself in the video game realm. Games like Manhunt (excessive gore and murder), I have no desire to play. Movies like The Departed (excessive cursing), I have no desire to see. Are there games that I like to play that you may think cross the moral line? Perhaps. But as in all things, I've learned it is not my job, nor desire anymore because it just makes me feel lonely and miserable, to force conviction concerning what you put in front of yourself. Does this mean I believe in relative morality? Well no, not exactly. But I do think too often we err on trying to objectively categorize minuscule and unworthy things and waste a lot of time, energy, and emotion in the process. A process that I find nobody usually comes out feeling better about the situation. And the Lord knows, and He does, that the last thing I need is to feel more self-righteous about myself. Though these are NSFW (not safe for work) and I do not encourage you to compromise any personal standards, I think if you do watch these you'll almost assuredly think, "Is that all?" Hopefully if you don't think that you won't conclude we've all been too desensitized and are going to Hell :| Lesbian scene Nerd Redemption/Internet Vigilante Justice? If there could be any humor to be found from this story, it's the poetic justice served against the quack self-proclaimed psychologist Cooper Lawrence who ignorately lambasted Mass Effect on the Fox news program. Gamers around the world united in completely flaming her newly released book, as well as her others, on Amazon.com, spamming them so much they had to shut down the comments sections. Read more details: Quack Get's Amazon Book Rating Spammed Lawrence Recants Mass Effect Judgement Hilarious Spoof Video Here's a very funny spoof of the whole ordeal on Fox News. Pretty funny. Review of the Game Finally, if you're interested in the game itself, here's a great video review from GameTrailers.com. "All your base are belong to us!" |
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